It's time to break your ankles and pull your groin

Are you too good at skating? Tired of having 4 WHEELS on ONE BOARD?!?! Take it to the next level and pray for mercy.

So you don’t know shit about Freeline Skating?

What makes Freeline Skates different?

Unlike rollerblading where your wheels face forward with your body and also ATTACH to your feet, these are completely….free.

See! Rollerblades still on feet!

These are free?

Maybe not in monetary value unless you steal them (they’re small), but free as in these really feel like they float where they want. They face parallel to your body like a skateboard would, with an extremely slight duck-footing.

See how the wheels are straight but the plates are slightly “duck-footed”?

Why?

It’s so you can carve.

Since both feet are able to move independently you must generate the force through traction and self generated propulsion. One foot anchoring itself down as the other pushes away from it and then carrying yourself with that front foot momentum.

What the hell did you just say to me?

It’s basically the carving principle. It’s a bizarre feeling when you get it down, but also liberating.

I myself could only go downhill in a blaze of fire for the first couple weeks. But as the muscle’s between my legs became adapt, I was able to start propelling myself. It felt great.

It also feels like you’re building some special dexterity with your pelvic floor muscle when freeline skating.

A master of your crotch.

As fun as the peripheral benefits are, the truth is this is a master class in balancing. Standing on them and moving is not so difficult. It’s flowing that takes some practice. For a while it may even feel impossible, but it will come.

I would personally consider this to have a much steeper learning curve than slack-lining for example (I have both).

There are monsters in the water

So where did this start? Asia?

Freeline skating actually started in San Francisco by its creator Ryan Farrelly.

Ryan Farrelly freeline skating

Even though it got it’s start in Northern California, it’s popularity seemed to spread like wildfire through parts of Asia as the years went on. Only now is it beginning to regain popularity in its indigenous home.

“Freeline” skates have been on a journey since their inception. In 2015 Freeline Skates, the company, went bankrupt.

After Freeline Skates went bankrupt, JMK-RIDE skates was created by Freeline pro rider Mattie Tyce. The design sleek and sexier, but it is reported as just as sturdy as the tank built Freeline Skates.

Why are they still called “Freeline” skates, even if they’re not?

Japanese pros call the sport freeskate in order to push the identity away from the brand (others have tried calling it “sideskating”). But around the world whether or not they are the literal brand skates, they are usually called freeline skates.

S-shaped axle

Bracket system

I don’t want to spend a lot of money. How do I start?

I personally bought a generic freeline brand online which are mimicked off of the original Freeline Skates. The skates themselves are built like a tank, but the bearings were obvious shit for the price. But if you got some good skateboard bearings laying around, or buy some on Amazon for $15 bucks, you got yourself a pretty sick smooth pair of freelines to start on.